106 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [ 3 d Ser., 



potential neck, he succeeds in bringing his mouth into posi- 

 tion to eat from the surface on which he stands, just as a 

 cow or horse does. The operation is ludicrous enough — 

 and equally suggestive. I have seen no evidence either in 

 overt act, or from examination of the stomachs of the ani- 

 mals, that they are characterized in their native haunts by 

 that degree of rapacity that distinguishes the larva? of some 

 of the urodela, of our Chondrotus lugubris, for example. 

 In confinement, however, I have several times seen individ- 

 uals seize their companions by the feet or gills, evidently 

 with no merely playful intent; and the frequent occurrence 

 of specimens in the streams and ponds with absent or muti- 

 lated tails, feet, legs and gills, is rather suspicion-arousing 

 evidence concerning the ethical code that prevails among 

 them. In justice it must be said, however, that our streams 

 are tenanted by other creatures which may be the criminals. 

 A large Cadis fly larva, in particular, armed with powerful 

 mandibles, is common throughout the summer, and one oc- 

 casionally finds this clinging to some portion of the body of 

 the adult newts (I have never seen a larva attacked by them), 

 its mandibles deeply buried in the flesh of its prey. 



3. Movements. — I have been much interested in the ap- 

 parent indeterminateness of the movements of the very 

 young larva?. Unless disturbed in some way the crea- 

 tures move very little for several days after hatching; 

 when, however, they do swim, they go off with a pur- 

 poseless, spasmodic flutter that seems more like the 

 movements of some sort of a child's toy animal, which 

 may, by winding up its spring, be made to move in a 

 very particular way, and for a certain number of sec- 

 onds. After fluttering about for a few moments only the 

 creature drops to the bottom of the aquarium, apparently 

 exhausted — its " spring run down " — and it is quite as likely 

 to fall on one side or the other of the body as to take its 

 normal position. And this tipped over attitude seems to be 

 in no wise uncomfortable, for it may be retained for a long 

 time. 



As the larva? grow older their movements become much 



